tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post1018999409515951252..comments2019-09-13T17:53:56.233+12:00Comments on Karl du Fresne: Otago's academics know what's best for us, so let's put them in chargeKarl du Fresnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05054853925940134404noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-7078432662400403542019-07-28T13:23:17.913+12:002019-07-28T13:23:17.913+12:00How can Clements use NZ gun ownership figures when...How can Clements use NZ gun ownership figures when, because NZ hasn’t had a gun register since the 1980’s, nobody knows how many guns there are?Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08384978463548698738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-15868674609498046692019-07-28T10:20:43.343+12:002019-07-28T10:20:43.343+12:00Well don’t forget Waikato University. It’s the go ...Well don’t forget Waikato University. It’s the go to if you’re looking for a comment on equality or social justice.Hamfistshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07654175401044466645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-84036331109318849422019-07-19T19:59:53.381+12:002019-07-19T19:59:53.381+12:00It’s not just booze and guns, Karl, it’s a number ...It’s not just booze and guns, Karl, it’s a number of legal issues too. You talk about most reporters having university degrees ( obviously not in grammar and syntax) and presumably having some grasp of critical thinking. The impression I have gained over many years is that reporters cluster around academics who appear to relish seeing their names in print (so are all too willing to oblige) rather than necessarily seeking comment from those who might actually know what they are talking about and who have no hobby horse in their stable. I call them them the “go to gurus”. I call to mind the old saying “empty vessels make most noise”. There are exceptions, but all too few. Why it is so common for comment to come from Dunedin rather than anywhere else I do not know. All I can say is that the natural and sensible reticence of Dunedin’s Scottish founders is not much in evidence these days.Ruaridhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08199119759439997274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-83775585607905996322019-07-19T16:12:15.947+12:002019-07-19T16:12:15.947+12:00Why should taxpayers continue to pay for universit...Why should taxpayers continue to pay for universities? They have become the enemies of democracy. Trev1https://www.blogger.com/profile/00271717267778957672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-19682480074108381712019-07-18T12:29:25.406+12:002019-07-18T12:29:25.406+12:00I hope you&#39;re distributing these firearms figu...I hope you&#39;re distributing these firearms figures elsewhere Karl, they need to be seen by the babbling social media addicts, because it&#39;s often via that avenue that most notice is taken. Anyone <b>lawfully</b> owning a firearm is now being painted as a pseudo-criminal of the psychopathic persuasion. There are the Bewildered Ones however, those who actually want to know the truth, as supported by the facts, as you have published. Good upon you!hughvanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13655840089502084282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-28675378781974454602019-07-16T14:36:24.250+12:002019-07-16T14:36:24.250+12:00Sellman drives me to drink only he&#39;s frustrati...Sellman drives me to drink only he&#39;s frustratingly tight-lipped about where all the &#39;cheap booze&#39; is. Karl, the academics have to pay court to students these days, not just their more direct paymasters. It&#39;s a joke. The odd time I have communicated moral support to academics caught on the wrong side of the PC issue du jour they have expressed their sheer demoralisation at this turn of events. The mob rules.Hilary Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00240590567749247083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-78520375648154430712019-07-15T22:05:45.302+12:002019-07-15T22:05:45.302+12:00How right you are, Karl : &quot;Academics - left w...How right you are, Karl : &quot;Academics - left wing orthodoxy - indoctrination and conformist group-think, supplanting intellectual inquiry and academic rigour&quot;. Universities used to be bastions of free speech and fearless fresh thinking - but they are now, in all our western world, succumbing to group-think, intolerant of everybody else&#39;s opinions. And look, for example, at the abominable way New Zealand students mindlessly screamed and banged on drums to prevent our distinguished elder statesman, mild-mannered and ever polite Don Brash, from presenting his opinions to an audience of many hundreds who had come precisely to hear what he had to say. It was a disgusting spectacle. Agreed-to, mindless group-think and political correctness are now the hallmarks of academia. <br />Andy Espersenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04198871648612112081noreply@blogger.com